Electric cooperatives in S.C. send assistance to North Carolina to help restore power

STATESVILLE, N.C. - Thirty line workers from South Carolina's electric cooperatives are traveling to North Carolina, less than 24 hours after a brutal winter storm knocked out power to more than 400,000 people in the Tar Heel state.

South Carolina crews will assist EnergyUnited EMC, an electric cooperative based in Statesville that serves more than 115,000 consumers.

As of 1:30 today, more than 50,000 co-op consumers in North Carolina did not have power.

"This is one of the most damaging storms to affect North Carolina in a decade," said Todd Carter, vice president of loss control and training for The Electric Cooperatives of South Carolina. "Our crews are prepared to work there until next Tuesday."

"Unfortunately, we know exactly how destructive these winter storms can be," said Carter, who helped organize restoration efforts after a historic ice storm knocked out power to more than 140,000 co-op consumers in South Carolina last month. "Some of our co-ops are still making repairs. And it's almost a month later."